TAUPO 17

TAUPO 17

TAUPO

1st-3rd December 2017

THIRD PLACE FOR NICK ROSS AT TAUPO BNT V8S

Cambridge driver Nick Ross has come away from round two of the BNT V8s at Taupo third overall.

Qualifying fourth, across the weekend’s three races Ross took his Total Lubricants Nissan Altima to fourth place in race one, a second place in race two, and third in the final encounter of the weekend.

Photo Credit: Matt Smith Photography

The results helping him maintain third place in the championship behind Jason Bargwanna and Andre Heimgartner.

“Up and down weekend overall, but happy. Really pleased with the reliability of the car at the moment, which is positive for the rest of the season,” said Ross.

“The car in race two was really good, we grabbed second spot on the podium which was great - valuable points for the championship.”

“In the reverse grid race three, we got a third placing which came after a great battle with Lance Hughes and Jack Smith. We needed to finish ahead of Jack to clinch third for the weekend.”

“It was a tough race and a tough battle with those two. The car seemed to be running a little bit rough. Might have been a fuel pressure issue, it just seemed to be down on power a little bit, but we held on to get that all important third place which was great. We’ll investigate the issue before the next round and see what the cause was.”

Ross said that varying track conditions made it a challenge to fine tune the set up of the car.

“Taupo is a circuit that you really need to get on top of the car set-up early on, otherwise you’re chasing it for the rest of the weekend. We had good pace for most of the weekend, just needed that little bit of extra which was hard to find due to the changeable track.”

“We found a nice performance window for the car on Sunday morning, but the track got a lot hotter in the afternoon and we couldn’t quite find what we needed in the car to make it perform its best.”

“I think it’s something most teams struggled with over the weekend.”

“But all in all a good weekend, we came into the round third in points and we’re still third in points.”

“Looking forward to getting down to the South Island in January for the the next two rounds.”

The next round of the BNT V8s is at Ruapuna near Christchurch, January 13-14 before heading to Teretonga the following weekend.

PUKEKOHE '17

PUKEKOHE

3rd - 5th November 2017

PUKEKOHE '17

PUKEKOHE

3rd - 5th November 2017

THIRD PLACE FOR NICK ROSS IN BNT V8S OPENER AT PUKEKOHE

Cambridge driver Nick Ross has come away from the opening round of the BNT V8s sitting third in the championship in what was a very trying weekend for all competitors with wet weather lashing the circuit for most of the event.

Ross qualified his Total Lubricants Nissan Altima in position three for race one and pole position for race two.

The opening race of the weekend saw Ross go on to finish third before a dissapointing 17th place in race two due to an electronic throttle issue that the car developed while he was leading. Recovering from the frustrating earlier finish, Ross went on to claim second place in the final race.

Photo Credit: Matt Smith Photography

“We were happy with the weekend, the weather and track conditions on Saturday were horrrendous, we were all lucky to get through unscathed,” said Ross.

“A little bit gutted that in the second race the electronic throttle decided to give up while we were leading the race. The engine was running, I just had no power to accellerate. We came into the pits and the team did their magic and fixed it and we were off again.”

Photo Credit: Matt Smith Photography

“The pace of the car is awesome, that one little gremlin was annoying, but overall there were plenty of positives for the weekend, and I’m happy to be sitting in third place in the championship as we head to Taupo for round two.”

Last season Ross had a great weekend at Taupo where he finished second overall and says that as he heads to one of his favourite circuits he’ll be looking to finish one place higher up on the podium.

“Really looking forward to Taupo, if the car is doing what it’s supposed to be doing, it’s a great circuit as it’s fast and flowing. If the car isn’t right, it can be hard work. We finished second there last year, and had a good weekend, will look to repeat that and go one better.”

NEW SEASON 17

NEW SEASON 17

NICK ROSS READY FOR MILESTONE SEASON

Cambridge V8 driver, Nick Ross, will mark a milestone in his racing career as he lines up for his 15th season in the BNT V8s which kicks off at Pukekohe, November 3-5.

With a championship title to his name in the 2013/14 season, 42-year old Ross finds himself the longest competing current driver in the championship.

Photo Credit: Matt Smith Photography

“It’s hard to believe that I’ll be lining up for my 15th season in the championship! I never thought that all these years later I’d still be here. I’ve been very lucky that over the years we’ve had some fantastic sponsors, and while we still have those we’ll still keep lining up on the start line,” says Ross.

Ross says he thrives on the element of competition against his fellow competitors and it’s winning races that keeps him motivated.

“It’s the thrill of close racing, and my on going passion to race cars and of course those race wins that keeps me motivated to compete every season.”

The off season has seen his Concept Motorsports team meticulously go over his Total Lubricants Nissan Altima to improve some of the reliability issues that troubled the car last season.

“We did have a few reliability issues last season which was frustrating, because when the car was running well we were making steady progress on track and getting some good results.”

Finishing sixth overall last season, Ross says finishing every race will be key to claiming an elusive second title.

“For me, and I guess everyone else it’ll all be about limiting the mistakes. Finishing races and being on the podium will be key to a good championship result.”

“The opening round at Pukekohe is the biggest event of the year, it’s a tricky circuit, so doing well there and keeping off the walls will be crucial to setting up the rest of your season.”

Nick Ross, the TOTAL Lubricants Nissan Altima and Concept Motorsport will again be supported this season by TOTAL Lubricants, Jim Wright Nissan, RYCO 24•7, C&R Developments, Team Wino, Auto Trail Ltd, 82C, NZ Safety Gear and Tyre Traders.

MANFEILD

MANFEILD

11th-12th February 2017

MANFEILD

MANFEILD

11th-12th February 2017

NISSAN ALTIMA IN ACTION AT MANFEILD

Photo Credit: Matt Smith Photography

It wasn’t meant to be for Cambridge driver Nick Ross at round five of the BNT NZ Touring Car Championship at Manfeild near Feilding over the weekend.

Despite having one of the fastest cars on the circuit, the Total Lubricants Nissan Altima was plagued by mechanical gremlins, putting a dampener on what was a promising weekend.

Ross qualified in second place just 0.210 of a second behind championship leader Simon Evans and over the weekend’s three races Ross had a second place, a DNF and a seventh place finish, leaving him seventh overall for the weekend.

The poor results were harder to take for Ross and his Concept Motorsport team considering they claimed three podium finishes with their Total Lubricants Nissan Altima at the previous round held at Teretonga last month.

“It was a trying weekend to say the least,” said Ross.

“It was the new part ‘demon’ getting us again, which is what we experienced at Ruapuna in January. We put new parts on the car and they are the ones that fail – it’s very frustrating.”

“We were going alright in the first race on Saturday and finished second which was great. But then on Sunday we had numerous problems, the gear box was the main one, but we also had a fuel rail break in race two.”

Ross said that despite the reliability issues plaguing his team, he still has some confidence.

“We know we have the speed in the car, we just need reliability so that we can be up the front and stay there.”

“We’ll head home, regroup and go again at Hampton Downs next month.”

The BNT NZ Touring Car Championship now heads to Hampton Downs for the sixth and final round of the championship, March 11-12.

Nick Ross, the TOTAL Lubricants Nissan Altima and Concept Motorsport will again be supported this season by TOTAL Lubricants, Jim Wright Nissan, RYCO 24•7, C&R Developments, Team Wino, Auto Trail Ltd, 82C, and Tyre Traders.

TERETONGA

TERETONGA

21st-22nd January 2017

TERETONGA

TERETONGA

21st-22nd January 2017

BOUNCE BACK AT TERETONGA

Photo Credit: Matt Smith Photography

Cambridge driver Nick Ross has bounced back to claim three podium finishes and to finish second overall at the fourth round of the BNT NZ Touring Car Championship held at Teretonga near Invercargill over the weekend.

The result comes off the back of a trying round the previous weekend at Ruapuna where the Concept Motorsport team suffered numerous mechanical gremlins with their Total Lubricants Nissan Altima.

“The team did an amazing job to get the car back to where it should be following Ruapuna,” said Ross.

“We missed out on pole position this weekend by 0.017 of a second, which is incredibly close and goes to show how tight it is up the front.”

In the weekend’s opening race, Ross finished second behind Auckland driver Simon Evans in his Holden Commodore, before a post race 10-second penalty was handed down to Evans for jumping the start.

The penalty pushed Evans down the order and elevated Ross into first place.

From there, Ross went on to claim a second place finish in the following race, and third in the final encounter of the weekend.

“The conditions got progressively worse over the weekend. Saturday’s race was dry, the first on Sunday was damp then the last one was very very wet.”

“I probably didn’t pick the conditions correctly and to tell the team to give the car the right set-up in that last race. It was ok, but we didn’t have the pace of Simon Evans and Jason Bargwanna ahead of us.”

“But to finish where we did for the weekend, we’re quite happy.”

Ross feels that he and his Total Lubricants Nissan Altima are now back on the right path for continued good results.

“I feel we’re back on track performance wise for the rest of the season. I think if we can hit the ground running at the next round at Manfeild like we did here, then we should go ok.”

“We know we have the pace and when we get the set up right, we can do it. It’s just a matter of keeping the car reliable and staying up the front with the other fast guys.”

The BNT NZ Touring Car Championship now heads to Manfeild near Feilding for round five the weekend of February 11-12.

Nick Ross, the TOTAL Lubricants Nissan Altima and Concept Motorsport will again be supported this season by TOTAL Lubricants, Jim Wright Nissan, RYCO 24•7, C&R Developments, Team Wino, Auto Trail Ltd, 82C, and Tyre Traders.

RUAPUNA

RUAPUNA

14th-15th January 2017

RUAPUNA

RUAPUNA

14th-15th January 2017

UNLUCKY WEEKEND AT RUAPUNA

Cambridge driver Nick Ross has endured a tough weekend at round three of the BNT NZ Touring Car Championship at the Ruapuna circuit near Christchurch.

Ross and his Concept Motorsport team were plagued by numerous mechanical issues on their Total Lubricants Nissan Altima throughout the weekend. In the practice session on Saturday morning, the oil pump on Total Lubricants Nissan Altima stopped working, not allowing Ross to get a single flying lap on track.

“We managed to get that fixed and were lucky it didn’t damage the engine when it stopped. From there we went straight into qualifying and despite not getting an practice laps in, managed to qualify fifth which is only about a second off where we were last year, so I was happy with that,” says Ross.

Ross went on to record a third place finish in race one, before a did not finish result in the second race of the weekend due to a broken axle ended his race.

“I was rapt with the result in race one, particularly as the conditions were really hot.”

“In race two, I got bit of a messy start and had a light touch with the car of Sam Barry, which caused one of the axle’s to break. I tried to keep going to get some points but it further damaged the differential and I had to stop.”

The team worked hard for the rest of the afternoon to repair the car in time for race three, and got the Total Lubricants Nissan Altima to the starting grid.

The bad luck would continue for Ross however, while waiting on the start line it became apparent that the rear hub seal was leaking oil, forcing the Concept Motorsport team to push the car off the track and out of the race.

“It was a very frustrating weekend only highlighted by that third place finish in race one. What is the most frustrating part is that before the weekend we put a lot of new parts on the car, and they are the ones that broke.”

Looking ahead to next weekend (Jan 21-22) at the Teretonga circuit for round four, Ross says he’s excited to get there and to put a bad weekend behind him.

“I love the Teretonga circuit. It’s a short track, but turn one has to be the best corner in the country. It’s just such a fast corner and critical to setting up the rest of the lap.”

Nick Ross, the TOTAL Lubricants Nissan Altima and Concept Motorsport will again be supported this season by TOTAL Lubricants, Jim Wright Nissan, RYCO 24•7, C&R Developments, Team Wino, Auto Trail Ltd, 82C, and Tyre Traders.

TAUPO

TAUPO

10th-11th December 2016

TAUPO

TAUPO

10th-11th December 2016

SECOND OVERALL FOR ROSS AT TAUPO

Cambridge driver Nick Ross has finished second overall at round two of the BNT NZ Touring Car Championship held at Bruce McLaren Motorsport Park outside of Taupo over the weekend.

Across the weekend’s three races, Ross, driving his Total Lubricants Nissan Altima recorded two second placing’s and a fifth elevating him to fifth place in the championship.

Ross scored his two second place finishes in the opening encounters of the weekend before a fifth place finish in a rain affected final race on Sunday afternoon.

Ross was pleased with his weekend and happy with the consistent speed of his Total Lubricants Nissan Altima over the course of the weekend.

“It was a very consistent weekend. In the last race, I pitted in second place and the team did the tyre change, but unfortunately when the car dropped back down I stalled it, which cost us about five seconds, and dropped us down to fifth,” said Ross.

“If it hadn’t of been for that, I think we would have been challenging for the win.”

“The conditions were really changeable, so there were a lot of strategy calls from the other teams coming into play. It was raining on some parts of the circuit and not the other. My team was asking me on the radio whether we should switch to wet tyres, I elected to stay on the dry tyres which turned out to be the right call in the end.”

Proving to be one of the drivers in the championship capable of catching series leader Simon Evans, Ross says he and his team still need to find a little bit more performance out of their Nissan Altima.

“There isn’t a lot of speed difference between my Total Lubricants Nissan Altima and Simons car, we just need to find a little bit more grip in our car. They seem to be able to maintain their tyre condition throughout a race, we tend to use ours, if we can solve that, we’ll be that little bit closer.”

The championship now heads to Ruapuna near Christchurch for round three, January 14-15.

“I really enjoy Ruapuna. It’s one of those circuits where if you turn up and the car is good, then you’re on for a great weekend. If you turn up and the car isn’t that good straight away, you’re really going to struggle all weekend.

“It’s a very technical circuit. The harder you push, often the worse you’ll do. It rewards smoothness.”

“I’m excited to see what that weekend brings.”

Nick Ross, the TOTAL Lubricants Nissan Altima and Concept Motorsport will again be supported this season by TOTAL Lubricants, Jim Wright Nissan, RYCO 24•7, C&R Developments, Team Wino, Auto Trail Ltd, 82C, and Tyre Traders.

PUKEKOHE

PUKEKOHE

4th - 6th November 2016

PUKEKOHE

PUKEKOHE

4th - 6th November 2016

WEEKEND OF POSITIVES FOR NICK ROSS AT PUKEKOHE

Cambridge driver Nick Ross has had a challenging but positive weekend in his Nissan Altima as he competed in the opening round of the BNT NZ Touring Car Championship at Pukekohe. Topping the times in practice and qualifying second on Friday, the weekend was looking promising for the former national champion. In race one, Ross held off current champion Simon Evans of Auckland to lead for the first eight of the 14-lap race.

Photo Credit: Matt Smith Photography

His progress was slowed however when one of the pins holding down his bonnet came loose, causing it to lift, acting like a parachute and slowing the speed of his car. Ross was unable to hold back Evans, and eventually had to settle for second place.

“I loaded the engine on the start and used the torque to get away cleanly, I knew that if I could get ahead of him into turns two and three then I could probably hold him off,” says Ross.

“I don’t know what caused the bonnet to come up, because Simon and I didn’t really touch, once it did come loose, it acted liked a parachute and slowed me down. I think it was just one of those things.” Two further races were held on Sunday, but the woes were to continue resulting in two DNFs.

Photo Credit: Matt Smith Photography

After the race back in the pit garage, his team discovering an engine failure was not the problem, in fact the oil line had been damaged from a piece of debris cutting through it. Whilst leading the third and final race, the oil pump belt on the car broke on lap two causing the car to shut down.

Despite the issues of the weekend, Ross says he is happy with the performance of his Nissan Altima.

“I’m pleased with the pace of the car at the moment, it’s looking promising and good to be up the front battling with Simon. We’ll go away and look at what caused those issues and remedy it before the next round at Taupo.”

“The car is fast and we can be up the front, we just need to make sure we are reliable.” After the first of six rounds, Ross sits sixth in the point’s standings; 158 points behind championship leader Simon Evans.

Round two of the BNT NZ Touring Cars will be held at Taupo, Dec 10-11.

Nick Ross, the TOTAL Lubricants Nissan Altima and Concept Motorsport will again be supported this season by TOTAL Lubricants, Jim Wright Nissan, RYCO 24•7, C&R Developments, Team Wino, Auto Trail Ltd, 82C, and Tyre Traders.